Dying Stars Dance in Cosmic Spiral Like Fiery Serpents

Two dying stars dance form a breathtaking spiral seen by JWST, revealing secrets of cosmic dust, supernovas, and stellar death in a beauty-meets-science tale.

what’s the story

An unforgettable snapshot of two stars dying in style
Just before a major academic milestone, Australian astrophysicist Joe Callingham and his team got a gift from the universe—an infrared image captured by Chile’s Very Large Telescope of two massive dying stars tangled in a fiery embrace. They named it Apep, after the Egyptian god of chaos. But the real jaw-dropper came when NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) zoomed in, revealing the stars twirling inside a spiral of cosmic dust that looked like two flaming snakes. This isn’t just cosmic fireworks—it’s deep science about how stars die and what they leave behind. Over 90% of all stars will go through some version of this stage, and Apep is a rare chance to see that in real time. And for the Indian reader fascinated by the cosmos, this is the kind of once-in-a-universe image that keeps us looking up.

stellar send-off

Wolf-Rayet stars burn bright, fast—and explode big
Massive stars don’t die quietly. Before exploding into supernovas, they become Wolf-Rayet stars—intensely hot, losing their outer layers in powerful winds. These winds are no joke—up to 1,000 times stronger than our Sun’s. According to NASA, the Wolf-Rayet phase lasts only about 200,000 years, a blink on the cosmic clock. What’s wild is that these stars often live in pairs. When two such stars clash, their winds collide and form dense dust—yes, the kind that eventually forms planets, asteroids, and even us. In fact, studies from Caltech show that carbon dust created in these environments was one of the first solid materials in the early universe. So, this isn’t just a death story—it’s also a birth story. Like Diwali sparklers lighting up the darkness, Wolf-Rayet stars end with a bang, but spark new beginnings too.

serpent spiral

Cosmic dust wraps stars in a dizzying snake-shaped coil
Imagine a water sprinkler spinning slowly—that’s how this spiral of dust wraps around Apep. But here’s the twist: it’s not just one star blowing dust at a weaker buddy. New data from JWST reveals that both stars are Wolf-Rayets, making this a rare double-punch scenario. Each has winds of nearly 1,700 kilometers per second. Normally, you’d expect the dust to form a neat pinwheel. But this one looks like a cosmic windsock—huge, puffy, and oddly shaped. The dust is also moving much slower than the winds—just 300 km/s, which puzzled scientists. This odd behavior might be due to how fast the stars spin or how the wind spreads near their equators. It’s not chaos—it’s complex choreography. The universe, once again, proves it can outdo even the best choreographers in Bollywood.

Quick Fact Box

• Name of System: Apep (named after Egyptian chaos serpent)
• Star Type: Dual Wolf-Rayet stars
• Telescope Used: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
• Wind Speed: Up to 1,700 km/sec
• Distance from Earth: Estimated 8,000 light-years

equal giants

Both stars blow winds with equal force and drama
One of the biggest surprises came when astronomers realized the two stars in Apep weren’t opposites—they’re equals. Usually, one massive star dominates the other. But here, both stars are unleashing fierce, hot winds at almost identical strength. This equal rivalry creates a massive cone of dust instead of a thin, elegant spiral. Think of it like two fire hoses facing off and creating a big, foamy splash in the middle. According to a July 2024 paper by Macquarie University, the shape of the spiral is a direct result of this balance. Around 40% of massive stars live in binary systems, so this isn’t rare, but catching two Wolf-Rayet stars in action is pure luck. For those of us back on Earth, it’s a humbling reminder that sometimes the loudest stories come from the quiet, distant corners of space.

mystery sibling

A third star silently carves out its own role
Just when astronomers thought they had Apep figured out, the JWST revealed something more—a third star nearby, creating its own chaos. Researchers saw a “bite” in the dust spiral that could only be explained by another wind source. That’s when Ryan White, a master’s student, found evidence of a third sibling star. This star’s wind is literally eating into the spiral, causing dents and shifts. Only about 10% of known systems have this kind of triple-star setup. It’s like discovering a hidden dancer in the middle of an already intense performance. For those studying supernova patterns, this could change how we predict star deaths. For the rest of us, it’s proof that just like in families, there’s always that one quiet member making a big impact behind the scenes.

cosmic layers

Multiple shells of dust hint at deeper history
Zooming out, JWST picked up not just one dust spiral, but four distinct layers—all evenly spaced and cooling as they moved outward. That’s like discovering not one rangoli, but four, each fainter and colder than the last. These layers tell us the stars have been doing this dance for thousands of years. The older shells are about 1,000 years apart, based on dust cooling calculations by Caltech’s Yinuo Han. This layered time capsule helps researchers trace how the stars’ winds have changed and cooled over time. Just like growth rings on a tree tell us its age and climate history, Apep’s dust shells are cosmic memory banks. They give scientists data not only on Apep, but on how early stars might have behaved when our universe was still young.

dust secrets

Carbon dust from Apep could be older than Earth
The dust created by Apep isn’t just space junk—it’s carbon-rich, meaning it could be part of the stuff that formed our own solar system. Some of this dust might be billions of years old and was formed in just the right conditions of coolness and pressure. In fact, this kind of carbon dust was one of the earliest solids in space, long before Earth even existed. According to NASA studies, this dust can travel across galaxies, settle into new star systems, and eventually form planets, moons, and even life. That’s right—the atoms in your pencil’s graphite might’ve started in a star like Apep. When you write your name, you’re literally using stardust. And that’s not just poetic—it’s astrophysical truth.

changing beliefs

New data reshapes what we knew about Apep’s winds
When Apep was first studied in 2018, scientists thought its dust moved too slowly, possibly from a rare spinning star. But the JWST data suggests something different. The stars may be farther away than we thought—by nearly 1,000 light-years, according to the latest orbit analysis. That means they’re also way brighter, and what looked like slow winds might actually be normal-speed flows from a much larger distance. That changes everything. It’s like seeing a light dimmer than expected, then realizing you were just way farther from it. Sometimes in science, new data doesn’t just add information—it rewrites the whole story. And just like every cricket fan in India knows, sometimes the game changes not because the players did—but because the camera got a better angle.

orbital code

Precise orbit calculations crack the spiral’s math
Ryan White’s computer model did more than just look cool—it decoded the exact orbit of Apep’s twin stars. By studying the dust’s shape and timing, he figured out how the stars move, where the spiral starts, and how fast it grows. This level of precision is rare and could help scientists predict when Apep might explode as a supernova. Supernovas from Wolf-Rayet stars can be 100 times brighter than our Sun, and some release gamma-ray bursts that can stretch across galaxies. Understanding the orbit also tells scientists how the energy flows, how dust escapes, and how new stars might form from it. It’s like cracking the choreography of the universe’s most elegant, dangerous dance.

quote corner

“The beauty of Apep is matched only by its mystery.”
— Dr. Peter Tuthill, co-author and astrophysicist
His quote nails what this discovery means: a collision of science and wonder.

final spark

Conclusion and takeaway from a cosmic masterpiece
Apep isn’t just another star system—it’s a full-on spectacle of light, science, and cosmic emotion. It shows how violent endings can create beautiful beginnings. For curious readers in India and beyond, it connects our everyday stardust with the stars themselves.

Here’s what to remember:

• Apep has two powerful dying stars and a hidden third.
• It forms a massive, rare spiral of carbon-rich dust.
• The James Webb Space Telescope captured this in jaw-dropping detail.
• This dust may be older than Earth—and part of what made us.
• New models reshape everything we knew about this system.
• The universe just dropped its latest blockbuster. And it’s not fiction.

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